Hi.
My name is Kal. I'm a software developer by training; not low level system programming using C or assembly, but high level stuff using Python.
I'm just starting my foray into electronics. I have some very basic knowledge about electricity:
- Ohm's law
- impedance as a complex number
- capacitance/inductance
- why 3-phase AC power is awesome
But that's about it. I don't know much about transistors, diodes, etc. I know that a diode has a forward voltage drop, and I *think* that real diodes pretty much don't do anything unless there is enough voltage drop. I don't know the difference between NPN and PNP. I have some faint recollection of using an op-amp at college, with feedback in order to maintain the output voltage level; there's also something about an op-amp trying to have very high resistance on its input and very low resistance on its output. Other than that, I don't know how an op-amp actually works internally. You get the idea of where my level of knowledge is.
Being a complete noob, I also don't have much in terms of equipment and parts. I have an Extech EX330 DMM, and a cheap soldering iron that's frankly too big and unwieldy for electronics. I don't have any oscilloscope, function, or bench power supply yet. In the near future, I'm looking to get these:
- a BK Precisions 2709B DMM; no Fluke 87V for me yet
![Grin ;D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
- Probe Master 9104R and 8150 test lead kits;
- a 220V~240V Hakko FX-888 soldering station (if I can still find a genuine one on AliExpress); or any good alternative; I prefer knob control over the stupid push button control on the FX-888D;
- a Rigol DS1054z scope;
- some DIY bench power supply kit, the kinds that David Jones shows in his basic lab setup video; though I haven't been able to find one for which I have no hesitation; the Altronics K3330 would be a no-brainer, I think, but they don't make those anymore;
- a function/waveform/signal generator; I don't really know what to look for in a function/waveform/signal generator though;
By the way, I live in Hong Kong, and that means two problems:
- real-estate is a scarce and expensive resource; i.e. I don't have much room at home to set up a permanent lab;
- it's a heavily consumer oriented society; everything in the street screams at you to just consume, consume, and consume. It's hard to get serious about DIY electronics. I think the only brick-and-mortar shop with a respectable selection of tools and parts is WECL, and they are not even that big; Or I just don't know where to look; some people tell me I should look in Shenzhen or Guangzhou, but I haven't been able to find out exactly where their DIY electronics markets are, and I'm also wary of Chinese counterfeit (stories abound on the Internet);
I speak Cantonese, English, French, and Mandarin.
I'm also an amateur naturalist, with a particular interest in Aculeata (bees, wasps, hornets, ants). One of my first goals is to combine the use of DIY electronics in the study of insects, e.g. a bee hive with humidity and temperature monitoring, and infrared camera inside, all solar powered (because laying mains power to a bee hive on a hill side sounds like A Very Bad Idea
®. Eventually I would also like to have enough knowledge to teach my two daughters and make things with them.
All that being said, expect a lot of (stupid) questions from me. Please bear with me.
![Grin ;D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/grin.gif)